History of Symposion

Description of the network ‘Symposion’This European teacher education network was formally established at two meetings in 1992 (in June in Aarhus and in September in Växjö). The participating institutions -Växjö Universitet, Aarhus Dag- og Aftenseminarium, Universität Potsdam, University College Northampton, Hogeschool Drenthe and Hogskolen i Agder -agreed on sending an application for a new network (ICP) to the ERASMUS Bureau in Brussels. The application was accepted and in April 1993 ‘ICP S 3004/05 Teacher Training’ was a formal financial reality, since it was supported within the ERASMUS programme. During the following years new members were accepted and as long as the old ERASMUS programme was going the ICP was co-financed by the European Union. Formal meetings were during this time held two times per year.

Since networks cannot be financed in the SOCRATES programme we decided to go on working as an informal network where all participating institutions have to pay for themselves -the network has no money at all (we don’t charge any membership fee or other fees). Meetings are now held once a year at the places of respective institution. Even if we have a chairman (the main coordinator) the meetings are quite informal. The network shall contain maximum 18 member institutions.

The name of the networkThe network was named ‘Symposion’ at a meeting in Weingarten 1998. The name was proposed by Tom Harrit from Vordingborg Statsseminarium and we have intentionally chosen the greek word due to the pleasant atmosphere of our meetings.